A report submitted by, the Saudi National Security Assessment Project, a Riyadh-based consultancy commissioned by the Saudi government to provide security and intelligence assessments says that “Iran has succeeded in creating “a Shi’ite “state within a state” in neighboring Iraq, according to The Washington Times.
“Where the Americans have failed, the Iranians have stepped in,” said the report.
The report states that the Iranian levers of influence in Iraq include a broad network of informants, military and logistical support of armed groups, and social welfare campaigns.
It adds that Tehran has “sought to influence Iraq’s political process by giving support to new various parties, in particular, to the SCIRI,” or Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the leading Shi’ite party.
The question is, how did these developments go unnoticed by the American intelligence agencies?
